EIU’s 2024 Awards Dinner honors alums, donors on Homecoming Weekend
Sep-17-2024
(Charleston, IL) – Eastern Illinois University will celebrate the accomplishments and ambitions of its 2024 Alumni Awards recipients and the contributions of notable philanthropists during this year’s Homecoming festivities on Saturday, October 5. Eleven awards recipients and EIU supporters will be recognized at this year’s Awards Dinner, which will take place in the University’s Grand Ballroom, located in the Martin Luther King, Jr. University Union on campus at 600 Lincoln Ave., Charleston. A cocktail reception will begin at 6 p.m. with dinner, alumni awards and donor recognitions to follow at 7 p.m. This year’s alumni honorees include:
Faythe Missick ’13, ‘15
Outstanding Young Alumni Award
Missick is an accomplished professional dedicated to education, sustainability and community service. She is currently ESG/Sustainability project manager for a Texas tech company, a published author, and the founder of Missick Publishing Company.
Erin Eddinger ‘94
Distinguished Educator Award
Eddinger’s 30 years in special education at Neoga High school has been spent preparing her students for college and for life. Her family is very proud of their EIU affiliations, including husband Sam, daughter and son-in-law Allyson and Justyn are all Eastern Illinois University alumni, while her son Chase is currently a sophomore.
Dr. Phillip ‘PJ’ Thompson ’03
Louis V. Hencken Alumni Service Award
Thompson is a higher education professional with 15+ years of experience in alumni relations. He currently serves as executive director of the Indiana State University Alumni Association, with career ties to Benedictine University, Kankakee Community College, McKendree University, Bradley University and EIU.
Chris Caldwell ‘87
Distinguished Alumni Award
Caldwell currently serves United Cleanup Oak Ridge, an industry-leading environmental contractor. He has nearly 40 years in advocacy and government relations leadership roles in the nuclear, chemical, and forest products industries, and was a 2011 recipient of the American Chemistry Council’s “Energy Efficiency Project Team Award” for a natural gas project.
Todd Connor ‘87
Distinguished Alumni Award
Connor is a retired journalist with more than three decades of experience sharing news around the world in local and national newscasts. As one of the original anchors for FOX News Channel in New York, he covered events such as the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center, the Iraq war and the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. An Emmy winner, he’s reported in Iraq, France, England, Israel, Jordan and the Vatican and has served as an anchor and correspondent for ABC News and has professional media ties to Indiana and Kentucky.
Michael Copeland ’77
Distinguished Alumni Award
Copeland spent 40+ years in public accounting and the banking industry after earning an EIU degree in business administration. He has experience in the healthcare industry, banking, oil and gas, and taxation. He met his wife, Cori, while attending EIU and they have been married for almost 47 years.
Jerry Esker ‘90
Distinguished Alumni Award
Esker was President and CEO of Sarah Bush Lincoln Health System from 2016 until his retirement in July 2022. Under his leadership, Sarah Bush Lincoln opened seven newly constructed primary care clinics, a free-standing Regional Cancer Center, a new Heart Center with 22 additional patient rooms, a free-standing surgery center, and a $30 million orthopedic and multi-purpose building in Effingham during his tenure.
Joe Gardella ’89
Distinguished Alumni Award
Gardella is the CEO of Sweetener Supply Corp, a family-owned business his father and a close friend started in 1990. He also is the founder and managing partner of Spyglass Properties LLC. Gardella is proud to have one of his daughters, Paige, joining the EIU family as she started the MBA program this fall and joins the women's volleyball program as the graduate assistant coach. He is equally proud of Paige’s twin sister, Jessica, who has joined Spyglass Properties LLC and will help oversee the renovations for the Sigma Pi house and the recently purchased University Village.
Col. Leon Rogers ’99
Distinguished Alumni Award
Col. Rogers has a lengthy career serving his country. While enrolled at EIU he joined the ROTC and received his Master of Business in administration. After command, he was assigned to the Arlington National Cemetery, where he was responsible for the life-cycle management and oversight of $173 million of cemetery expenses Army funds.
The Awards Dinner is sponsored by the EIU Alumni Association and held annually in conjunction with Eastern’s Homecoming celebration. Starting this year, the Alumni Awards Dinner is merging with another unique event—EIU Tribute—which annually recognizes influential EIU donors.
As part of the now-combined event, Jerry Groniger will be celebrated during the evening for his support of EIU Athletics. Groniger’s current association with EIU began in 2007, but his connections to the University and its athletics program run deep. His father attended EIU as a student from 1913-1915, using the old interurban train line to travel between Mattoon and Charleston for classes. As a child and teenager, Groniger would attend EIU athletic events, and when asked about some of his favorite players from over the years he named Panther basketball legends Andy Sullivan (1942-1946) and Tom Katsimpalis (1949-1952), both of whom are members of EIU Basketball’s All-Century team. The Mattoon native has been an “outstanding supporter” of the Panthers over the past several years and was inducted into the EIU Hall of Fame in 2022 as a Friend of Athletics. Since 2012, he has contributed to the Panther Club, the EI&U Expect Greatness Campaign, and WEIU TV & Radio. In 2019, he won the Panther Club’s Glen Hesler award and recently provided major funding needed for completion of a new women’s basketball locker room. Groniger’s affinity for EIU and its sports teams is evident through his continued support and financial contributions, including his sponsorship of the recently named Groniger Arena. According to EIU leaders, he has created a legacy that will live on for many years to come. His career spans farm management, business, and the food industry.
Tickets, priced at $45 per person, are available by contacting the EIU Alumni Association at (217) 581-6425. Full recipient biographies are featured at eiu.edu/alumni. A full listing of Homecoming events for students, faculty and staff, community members and EIU alumni also is available at eiu.edu/homecoming.
EIU prepares students to accomplish their life goals through a combination of quality academics, personal relationships, and both on-campus and online learning opportunities. For more information about Eastern Illinois University, including its broad array of academic and career readiness programs, or any of EIU’s other community-based services and opportunities, visit eiu.edu or call EIU’s public information office at (217) 581-7400.
